The Best U.S. Cities for Today’s Urban Hermits

Oct 4

Lists + Maps

There was a time when if someone wanted to sequester themselves from the world, they retreated to a remote cave and entertained themselves with recurring episodes of, “I Hope I Find Something to Eat Today.”

Nowadays, those who’d prefer to be alone can do so even in the most crowded of cities. More companies allow telecommuting, entertainment is just a click away, and food and drink delivery companies will bring just about anything to your door. For those who’d prefer to be alone, there’s little reason to leave the house.

Life is good for today’s urban hermit, but Estately set out to determine which U.S. cities were the best for a hermitic life. To do this, we scored each of the 100 largest U.S. cities from 1-100 on five sets of criteria.

The 10 Best U.S. Cities for Today’s Urban Hermit

The cost of housing varies across Chicago, but overall it’s a more affordable city than most others. The best part is there are ample options when it comes to food (GrubHub partners with over 2,000 restaurants in Chicago, and 3,500 in the Chicago area), and all five national alcohol delivery companies have set up shop there.

Perhaps the best part of being a hermit is not spending 8 hours per day in the cube farm of some giant office. With more home-based workers than any other major city, Austin offers the best odds of working in your pajamas.

San Francisco’s home prices are horrifying, but for a hermit with deep pockets, it’s an ideal spot. Telecommuting is extremely common, and there are plenty of food and drink options that will arrive right at your door.

In addition to affordable housing options and lots of opportunities to work from home, Denver also has gorgeous mountains off in the distance for hermits who like to occasionally swap the solace of their condo for the solace of the mountains.

A Los Angeles hermit need not live on chain pizza deliveries alone. There are over 1,600 restaurants partnering with GrubHub in the city, and more than 3,500 in the great Los Angeles area, and all five national alcohol delivery services have operations there.